OLYMPIA, Wash. — Political pundits, and even allies, said President Joe Biden struggled in Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump.
A poll conducted Friday suggests voters agree. In the nationwide Survey USA poll of approximately 2,300 voters, former Trump leads President Biden 45% to 43%.
When asked “Is Joe Biden up to the job of being president for the next 4 years?” 29% responded “Yes,” with 57% saying “No.” Thirteen-percent said they were not sure.
”President Biden really panicked his Democratic base supporters by having a poor performance,” said KING 5 Political Analyst Rob McKenna, a Republican and former Washington attorney general.
McKenna said he thought it was a “good night” for Trump.
“Who did his usual thing. He fabricated a lot, exaggerated a great deal, but he managed to stay under control,” said McKenna.
Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, and outspoken critic of Trump said, “It’s clear, President Biden had a rough night last night, there’s no question about it.”
Inslee added, ”This is not going to wash away the fact that Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to democracy.”
In the Survey USA polling, voters were also asked if President Biden should run for a second term. The majority, 57% said he should stay in the race, 34% said he should step aside.
McKenna doubted that would happen.
“If President Biden stepped aside, that means Vice President Harris would step aside. That would be very damaging,” said McKenna, “In terms of losing large numbers of African American voters.”
Post-debate poll details
SurveyUSA interviewed 3,300 Americans following Thursday night’s presidential debate. 2,831 were identified as registered to vote and 2,315 said they were likely to vote.
Splitting up the 2,315 likely voters, 37% identified as Republican and 38% identified as Democrats with 23% identifying as Independents.
According to the survey results, former president Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden 45% to 43% among likely voters if the election was held Friday.
- 83% of the likely voters who choose a candidate said they will definitely vote for their candidate. 55% of third-part likely voters said they may change their mind.
- 45% of likely voters said Trump is not “up for the job” while 57% said Biden is not. 13% of respondents said they were still unsure when it comes to Biden, compared to only 7% for Trump
- 55% of likely Democratic voters said Biden should continue to run for a second term while 34% said he should step aside and allow another Democrat to run with 10% unsure.
If Biden were to step aside, 43% of likely Democrat voters would want Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him.
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